Triptych, In Praise of Womanhood, enamel on copper, London, 1901, designed and made by Alexander Fisher.

The triptych rests on a rectangular base with a plain, stepped moulding, supporting the main, square, central panel. Attached on either side of this central panel are hinged rectangular panels which completely enclose the triptych when closed. Each panel is backed by a plain copper sheet which is attached to the frame by screws.

The enamelled panels are set within deep frames, the internal edges bevelled and edged with a twisted, cable wire border. The two side panels are an abstract wash of colour ranging from a deep blue towards the base, through green to a fiery red at the top. The central panel depicts a scene from Shakespeare’s, `Two Gentlemen of Verona’ (Act IV, Scene II) which takes place outside the Duke’s palace under Sylvia’s chamber. It has an image of four female musicians, standing in a row, the figure on the far left and the central figure to the fore, the other two to the rear. The four figures are dressed in loosely fitting, flowing robes with draped hoods. The textiles are intensely coloured and richly embroidered. The figure on the far left in a red dress is holding a violin. The figure bedside her is an ultramarine and green coloured cloth. The central, dominant figure in yellow robes and blue hood is holding a lyre while the figure on the far right in a green and red dress and is holding a stringed instrument which is otherwise obscured by the voluminous sleeve worn by the central figure. The four figures are set against a dark green background. The simple, draped dresses, lacking supportive undergarments are an example of artisanal or artistic dress, first promoted by Dante Gabriel Rosetti and the Pre-Raphaelites of a generation before. Medieval art – with its depictions of free-flowing garments – provided a key source of inspiration.

The artist’s signature and date are in the lower right-hand corner and beneath the central panel on a raised plinth of the base is the legend, `IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD’ in embossed lettering.

Significance
In the space of only fifteen years from the late 1880s, Alexander Fisher was almost solely responsible for a major innovation in the English decorative arts; the establishment of enamel work as an important element of metalwork design, beyond its limited applications in the jewellery and watchmaking trades. He was gifted silversmith, enameller and sculptor, who made a major artistic contribution to the Arts and Crafts movement. He was one of the foremost educators in an age when art education was revolutionized. From 1896 to 1908, The Studio published twenty pieces illustrating his work. Other journals publicised his work throughout Europe and America. And yet the known details of his life are sketchy.

Alexander Fisher was born in Shelton, Staffordshire on March 3, 1864. His father was a ceramics painter for Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co and from the 1870s, for the Terra Cotta Co. His son enamelled on terracotta with his father before winning a National Scholarship in painting at the National Art Training Schools, South Kensington 1884-86 and subsequently a travelling scholarship to Italy and France. On returning to London he opened a studio at 139 Oxford Street and then at a succession of addresses in Kensington.

Fisher's entry into the field of enamelling was encouraged by Thomas Armstrong, the Director of Art of the Science and Art Department, South Kensington. Armstrong commissioned a French enameller, Louis Dalpayrat (1838-1900) to give a series of lessons in the technique of enamelling to twelve students of which Fisher was one and the only one to continue to study and refine the techniques after the course had finished. Fisher mastered all enamelling techniques, champlevé, cloisonné, bassetaille, plique à jour and painted enamel. It was with this last technique that Fisher particularly excelled and which is used in the Easton triptych, where the painted enamel is laid on a background of metal foil giving the work an extraordinary depth and luminosity of colour. Fisher's position in the Arts and Crafts movement can be aligned with the work of artists such as Edward Burne-Jones and designers such as William Morris.

The subject matter for the Easton triptych, IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD, is taken from Shakespeare's, 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' (Act IV, scene II) where the Host sings the following song: 'Who is Sylvia? What is she / That all our swains commend her? / Holy, fair and wise is she, / The heaven such grace did lend her / That she might admired be / Is she kind as she is fair? / For beauty lives with kindness / Love doth to her eyes repair / To help him of his blindness / And, being helped, inhabits there. / Then to Sylvia let us sing / That Sylvia is excelling; / She excels each mortal thing / Upon the dull earth dwelling. / To her let us garlands bring.' Fisher in his correspondence with Mrs Easton wrote: 'I have tried to put the whole of Shakespeare's thought into this. The three attributes 'Holy', 'Fair' & 'Wise' & 'Kindness' and the power of Beauty.' Thus, explains the legend along the base of the central panel: IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD.

Unusually, this triptych comes accompanied with original documentation in the form of a series of letters to Mrs Easton from Alexander Fisher. These reveal payment details (the original cost of this commission was £100) and arrangements for delivery but also Fisher's own assessment of his work. Fisher regarded the triptych as, 'the largest and best enamel that I have yet done.' Exhibited at the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, (November 1901), 'It has received very great praise from all who have seen it.' The letters also reveal the source for the imagery of the central panel, Shakespeare's 'Two Gentlemen of Verona', Act IV, Scene II.

Fisher's role as an educator was enormously influential and took two forms: private tuition for necessarily wealthy patrons and involvement with art schools. Fisher was closely involved with W.R. Lethaby and the foundation of the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Fisher, as well as teaching enamelling and silversmithing techniques at the Central School also taught enamelling at the City and Guilds Technical College based in Finsbury for 22 years which also became a significant element in the new art movement. These initiatives had a direct effect on the growth and success of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Alexander Fisher's importance is as a major artist of the British Arts and Crafts movement, a superb technician and a prominent figure in the development of British art school education in the 20th century.

Provenance.
This triptych was commissioned by Mrs L.F. Easton of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. Mrs Mary Easton was the wife of Lucian Frederick Easton and the daughter-in-law of a prominent local land owner and businessman, Jason Easton, who had extensive agricultural holdings, owned eleven local banks and had a controlling interest in the Southern Minnesota Railroad. The Eastons were one of Wisconsin's wealthiest, most political and socially savvy families. They were intensely involved in community projects. Family members were represented on the local Board of Education, the Board of Park Commissioners, the Pettibone Park Commission, and various medical foundations and associations.

Mrs Mary Easton, born on January 1st, 1865, died on her 81st birthday in 1946. She was the daughter of a prominent La Crosse attorney, Joseph W. Losey and incidentally the aunt of the American theatre and film director, Joseph Losey of whom, it is said, was highly influenced by his aunt's sophistication and culture during his formative, teenage years. She was the first President of the La Crosse Home for Friendless Women and Children which was started in 1888. This institution offered sanctuary to destitute spinsters, widows and unmarried mothers with their unintended offspring. This association may provide the explanation for the theme of the triptych 'IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD.' During World War 1 she was Executive Chairman of the American Red Cross, and was also on the Board of Directors of the La Crosse Hospital and the Social Service Society. Wealthy, she and her husband lived in a magnificent residence at 1317 Cass Street which Mrs Easton furnished with paintings and art objects. In this she was advised by Florence Koehler (1861-1944), a prominent American Arts and Crafts jeweller who had been taught metalwork, jewellery and enamelling by Alexander Fisher in London between 1898 and 1900.

The Eastons were clearly a close-knit family. They occupied magnificent residences opposite each other in Cass Street, La Crosse. Sarah Easton, (Mrs Jason Easton) was an important art collector and had a significant collection of etchings by James McNeil Whistler. Artistic interests were also shared by her daughter in law, Mary Easton and the Florence Koehler was evidently involved in the Alexander Fisher commission as the accompanying correspondence shows.

Alexander Fisher was born in Shelton, Staffordshire on March 3, 1864. His father was a ceramics painter for Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co and from the 1870s, for the Terra Cotta Co. His son enamelled on terracotta with his father before winning a National Scholarship in painting at the National Art Training Schools, South Kensington 1884-86 and subsequently a travelling scholarship to Italy and France. On returning to London he opened a studio at 139 Oxford Street and then at a succession of addresses in Kensington.

Fisher’s entry into the field of enamelling was encouraged by Thomas Armstrong, the Director of Art of the Science and Art Department, South Kensington. Armstrong commissioned a French enameller, Louis Dalpayrat (1838-1900) to give a series of lessons in the technique of enamelling to twelve students of which Fisher was one and the only one to continue to study and refine the techniques after the course had finished. Fisher mastered all enamelling techniques, champlevé, cloisonné, bassetaille, plique à jour and painted enamel. It was with this last technique that Fisher particularly excelled and which is used in the Easton triptych, where the painted enamel is laid on a background of metal foil giving the work an extraordinary depth and luminosity of colour. Fisher’s position in the Arts and Crafts movement can be aligned with the work of artists such as Edward Burne-Jones and designers such as William Morris.

The subject matter for the Easton triptych, IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD, is taken from Shakespeare’s, “Two Gentlemen of Verona” (Act IV, scene II) where the Host sings the following song: “Who is Sylvia? What is she / That all our swains commend her? / Holy, fair and wise is she, / The heaven such grace did lend her / That she might admired be / Is she kind as she is fair? / For beauty lives with kindness / Love doth to her eyes repair / To help him of his blindness / And, being helped, inhabits there. / Then to Sylvia let us sing / That Sylvia is excelling; / She excels each mortal thing / Upon the dull earth dwelling. / To her let us garlands bring.” Fisher in his correspondence with Mrs Easton wrote: `I have tried to put the whole of Shakespeare’s thought into this. The three attributes “Holy”, “Fair” & “Wise” & “Kindness” and the power of Beauty.’ Thus, explains the legend along the base of the central panel: IN PRAISE OF WOMANHOOD.

M.5-2019